GRAPEVINE (CBSDFW.COM) – A series of automatic
federal spending cuts set to take effect on March 1 could have a
significant impact on Dallas-Fort Worth area airports.
As many as 2.1 million federal employees could face furloughs, though
experts expect agencies to do everything they can to delay them.
To prepare for the possibility of a budget sequestration on March 1,
the FAA is making plans to reduce its expenditures by approximately $600
million for the remainder of 2013.
Officials with TSA and U.S. Customs are set to meet on Monday at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to prepare for the possibility of personnel furloughs.
TSA officials warn that furloughs, which could reduce the number of
security checkpoint screeners, would increase the wait times to get
through security.
The FAA estimates that furloughs to air traffic control staff could increase flight delays by as much as 90 minutes.
But DFW International Airport is not the only local airport facing cuts. Love Field Airport and a number of others in Dallas, Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth and McKinney also face furloughs, which could shutdown air traffic control towers.
